In the Doctor's office
by white pedal
Summary: Based on episode 55, we see the confrontation between Joey and his mother during Serenity's operation and the doctor who preformed Serenity's operation tells Joey something disturbing. Please R


**This is based off of my theory about why Serenity had bad eyesight in the first place, and to my question as to why Mrs Wheeler wasn't seen again after episode 55. And what happened between her and Joey.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Joey saw his sister off when she was wheeled into the surgery room. He was relief that his sister was finally going to have the operation that will save her eyesight, she was going to be okay. When he looked over he saw his mother, Lynn Wheeler, looking out the window. Joey was surprised to see his mother all these years, when Joey was little she wore a pink shirt with puffy loose sleeves and a pair of blue pants, she had dark brown hair that was styled like Joeys. She usually had a frown on her face, but being married to an alcoholic would do that to anybody. Now, seven years later, she was wearing a yellow skirt with a yellow sweater to match and a pink shirt underneath, her brown hair was starting to gray a bit and Joey could see she curled it also. Her eyes are the same color as Serenity's but were different.

It was the first time in years that he saw her and she looked so different. Almost peaceful to be exact, she seemed so much happier now.

It made him hopeful, when she smiled at him and said "It's nice to see you to, thanks son" he can see himself patching things up with his mother. Despite that years ago she wasn't nice to him and when she divorced his father she abandoned her ten-year old son with a man who was incapable of raising a child. But even though he was upset, he was glad that she took Serenity since she needed more attention for her condition. And the fact that his father even planned to kill Serenity at one time because her eye disease costed his father a fortune and he lost everything.

Serenity's eye disease was called congenital glaucoma, the drainage system in her eyes didn't develop properly and were compressed, making it difficult for the eye fluids to the flow out normally and properly. It was causing increased pressure in her eyes that was slowly damaging them over the years and would have eventually led her going blind. But thanks to Joey, his sister was about to get the surgery, the doctor told him and Mrs. Wheeler they will be doing a procedure called Trabeculectomy, they will remove a piece of tissue from both her eyes so there will be new opening's for the fluids to flow out from her eyes easily and smoothly.

Joey decided to gather up his courage to go talk to his mother, even though they just saw each other again he thought it was time to catch up with her. Ask her how everything was for her, how her new home was,and how everything was at Serenity's school. He has high hopes that because of his mother calling him son proudly, maybe they can be a real family for once.

"Hey ma," Joey said "How are ya?"

Lynn didn't turn from the window "Why did you come here?" Her tone suddenly cold and harsh.

Joey froze from his mother's sudden cold voice "Huh? what do you mean?"

Lynn turned her direction to Joey, she had an ice-cold stare that didn't held the warmth he saw when he came in. Her green gray eyes didn't hold the gentleness and purity that Serenity's did, they were hard as steel and they were filled with venom. She looked at him with complete disgust and resentment.

"You shouldn't have come here in the first place, why did you get yourself involved in our business Joseph!?"

Her tone was sharp this time, Joey couldn't believe what his mother was saying.

"Ma what are you talking about? and I thought you were glad to see me?"

"I'm saying you should have never came for Serenity's operation and you shouldn't have gotten yourself involved with us in the first place! and I wasn't glad, I would have yelled at you but I didn't want to cause a scene and upset your brat sister!"

Joey was taken back by the woman's comment "Ma, Serenity is my little sister! and when I found out she was about to go blind I had to do something! and Serenity's not a brat, she was scared because of the surgery! anyone would freak out because of that!"

Mrs Wheeler looked at Joey "You had no idea how furious I was when Serenity made that tape behind my back! to think she willingly told you about this and you just had to stick your nose where it doesn't belong! I would have given her the punishment of a lifetime if she wasn't so sick! and to think she's now getting her cosmetic surgery for something so trivial."

Joey was appalled "Ma! me and Serenity haven't seen each other for seven years! when she told me the time came and her sight was fading I had to do something! and how dare you call it cosmetic surgery! it's an operation to save her from going blind. Don't you realize she would see complete darkness for the rest of her life if she didn't get it? you were with her for seven years at the hospital and saw what she went through, don't you even care about your daughter's well-being!? because now you're showing me you don't care."

"Be quiet boy!" Lynn snapped.

Joey went wide-eyed. When his mother said that to him, cold and un-moving, she reminded him of his father, Joey snarled and clenched his fists.

"You haven't changed, you're never gonna change...you are still the same bitter bitch I remember you as when I was a kid who hated me. What the hell was I thinking coming over here to talk to you?"

Lynn scoffed "Same as you, you are still that petty little boy who got into fights at school."

"That was because I was protecting Serenity from the bullies ma! you know damn well that I only fought if it was either to protect Serenity or defending myself!"

When Joey and Serenity were little, Serenity was often picked on at school for her eye problems and the boys often made her the butt of the jokes such as "The Three Blind Mice" or "The Blind Old Man". They even went as far as to hit her and that's when Joey came in and beat them, their mother thought Joey was a trouble maker but she didn't even ask him what happened.

Lynn crossed her arms "Not according to your criminal record, you've been in a gang throughout middle school and almost got arrested. I don't want that kind of influence around my daughter and I didn't want you to be the one to pay for her surgery!"

Joey was at his breaking point "So you would rather have Serenity go blind than to get the surgery?"

"Better than seeing you again. And you were late today for her surgery because of some card, she refused to come out of the room, have you have any idea how embarrassing it was for me when the doctors were looking me banging on her door!? it would be better if she went blind at that point and that you never had shown your face!"

Joey couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was true that he was upset about losing his red eyes black dragon, it was the card that gave him the confidence to fight for Serenity and when he lost it, he felt like less of a man and felt like he let Serenity down in the process. But thanks to Tristan knocking some sense into him (literally) he realized that he will only fail Serenity if he didn't show up at the hospital.

"You know what ma, it's true I was upset about losing Red eyes. But I didn't show up at first because that card made me into who I am today, and when I lost that card I felt that I failed Serenity since I lost something that reminded me of her throughout duelist kingdom. But then I realized that she needed me in person and I plan on being there for her."

Lynn gave him a disapproving look "I swear you are as pathetic as your father Joseph, he always said that he needed his alcohol. You are going down the same path he went."

Joey had enough "That's it ma! I had enough of this. I am nothing like him! he didn't care about Serenity but I do, and if I was like him I wouldn't have paid for her surgery! and he was going to kill Serenity for her eye disease because i costed him a fortune, something that wasn't her fault!"

"And I took Serenity away to protect her from your father!" Lynn exclaimed.

Joey looked down on her "And I know that you were using him in college, you pretended to love him to get his money and you were planning to leave. But your plan backfired when you got pregnant with by accident, and throughout your marriage you treated him like garbage and that's why he became an alcoholic in the first place...you're even worse than him, especially when you are saying you rather have Serenity, your own daughter, go blind."

A loud crack sound filled the hallways of the hospital. Nurses that were passing by went wide-eyed and gasped when they saw Mrs. Wheeler strike Joey, his cheek became red but he stood his ground and glared at his mother, who had a horrified expression on her face as Joey gave her a death stare.

"If you think hitting me is going to make me afraid of you, you are making a big mistake. I'm not little anymore ma, you can't scare me and I find it pathetic that you would just hit someone just so you can have control over them."

"That's it!" boomed a male voice from behind.

and Joey looked behind them and saw an angry middle-aged doctor walking into their direction.

"Oh thank goodness you're here!" Lynn exclaimed, she pointed at Joey "I want you to throw this hooligan out of here at once doctor Manson!"

"I'm not throwing him out, It's you who's banned from this hospital" He said.

The older woman was in disbelief "What!? what is the meaning of this!?"

Doctor Manson glared at the woman "You have caused nothing but problems in this hospital the moment you arrived with your daughter. I will not tolerate this anymore, I want you to remove yourself from the hospital before I have my staff escort you out."

Mrs. Wheeler was speechless for a moment but spoke again "But this Neanderthal was the one who started the fight!"

Doctor Manson pushed his glasses up "I believe that _Neanderthal_ is your son, and the one who paid for your daughter's surgery to save her eyesight. You should be showing him gratitude and respect for what he did, not once in my fifty years in medicine did I hear a parent say such cruel things to their child and showing such disrespect to them as well. And to assault this young man in my hospital, I will not stand for it. Now leave."

Mrs. Wheeler was furious "Fine, I'll leave but I will see it that you all regret this. You will rue the day you defended this delinquent, and you will pay as well Joseph for barging back into Serenity's life! I will see that you never see her again!"she started stomping out of the hospital.

Joey glared at the woman, he started kicking himself for having high hopes that he and his mother could have a relationship. She was still the same bitter woman he knew as a child, who when his father was passed out or at some bar would slap him for no clear reason, he thought he was bad and he got what he deserved. He realized now he was wrong and his mother was just a horrible person. She always made excuses to hurt Joey, he didn't know why she hated him but he didn't care anymore, he refuses to have a relationship with her because at this point, he had no mother.

And it will be a cold day in Hell if she took Serenity away from him again. If he had to fight his mother in court to see Serenity Than so be it.

He turns around to see the doctor "What's up doc?" Joey says with a small smile.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Wheeler, my name is doctor Johnathan Manson. I am the one who performed your sister's operation."

Joey blinked, has it already been hours since the surgery? he can guess that arguing with a spiteful neglectful mother really made time fly.

Joey hesitated "How is she?" he was praying that nothing went wrong in the operating room.

Doctor Manson smiled "The operation was a complete success, she's already in the recovery room. She will have to wear bandages for about a month, and while she is recovering she will be given medication to help the healing process. She will be seeing crystal clear for a very long time."

"YES!" Joey pumped his fist in the air. He had never been this happy for a long time, he did, he kept his promise and now his sister's eyesight is saved she will be able to see till the end of her days.

He grabbed doctor Manson into a big bear hug "Thank you thank you thank you!" he let's go of the doctor as he gasps for air.

Doctor Manson readjusted his glasses and smiled "You're welcome," his expression started to get faint "However, I would like to talk to you about something if you don't mind?"

Joey stopped grinning and looked at the doctor in confusion "Uh, sure what about? if it's about the bill I'll find a way to pay-"

"It's not the bill, It's already taken care of from the money you paid for Serenity. It's actually about your sister's medical history."

Joey didn't like where this was going. Suddenly Tristan was walking by and spotted Joey.

"Hey Joey, I went to get us some drinks and I saw your mom leaving, is something wrong?"

Joey looks at Tristan "I have a gut feeling something is wrong."

* * *

Joey and Tristan went into doctor Manson's office and they started to talk.

"My staff went through your sister's medical records, as you know when she was born she was diagnosed with congenital glaucoma. I did a background check on your mother and fathers side of the family and there appears that the disease does not run in either side."

Joey was surprised "Really? doc I don't understand, when Serenity was born they said that her disease was genetic in our family."

Doctor Manson continued "Well as I checked her records, it seems that when she was born she had eight percent of marijuana and twelve percent of tobacco in her system."

Both Joey Tristan became shocked.

"What!?" Joey says quietly.

Doctor Manson looks up at the two men "We wondered that as well when we read her file. We talked to your mother about it but she refused to answer our questions, then for some odd reason there was a paper saying it was genetic in your family since congenital glaucoma commonly affects the second born child. We found out the doctors switched the tests, we had them immediately fired for tampering with the medical records, it was only two days ago when we found out that the information about the disease being in your family was false."

Joey looked at him "Then that means Serenity's eye disease was an unfortunate coincidence. But how did she get eight percent of tobacco and marijuana in her system when she was born?"

Doctor Manson continued "It is true that while Congenital Glaucoma is known to affect others randomly at times, I believe the tobacco in Serenity's system played a part her getting the disease. You boys know that second-hand smoking is dangerous for a child's health, especially when a woman is pregnant and when women smoke or are in toxic environment's it can affect the baby's health and often affect their development. While ten percent of the time the eye disease is a family trait, ninety percent of the time the causes are unknown..but in Serenity's case I believe there was a cause of her illness since birth."

Joey was silent while Tristan sat back and brushed his fingers through his hair.

"You know," Joey starts "When I was a kid, when ma was pregnant with Serenity she always smelt like smoke. She usually went out a lot and she still had that disgusting smell of cigarette on her."

Joey started remembering his past, as a child his mother Lynn came home smelling of cigarettes. Joey couldn't stand the smell and his mother didn't show any emotion when came back from where ever was, it made Joey more suspicious.

Doctor Manson adjusted his glasses "I hope you won't be offended by what I'm about to say Mr. Wheeler, but I believe your mother is the reason why your sister was born with horrible eyesight."

Joey was quiet for a moment, but then he looked up at the doctor with his eyes as hard as steel.

"No offence taken doc."

Doctor Manson looks at Joey in the eye "If that's the case Joseph, your mother better have a good explanation about why she was in those environments during her pregnancy."

"Believe me doc if I ever see my ma again, I will make sure she'll tell me everything. But I'm just glad I was able o pay for Serenity's surgery in time." Joey says, thankful that Serenity's eyesight is saved._  
_

Doctor Manson spoke again "Mr. Wheeler, how much did you pay for your sister's operation? if you don't mind me asking?"

Joey blinked "Wasn't it three million dollars? Serenity told me on the tape she sent me that's how much it costed."

Doctor Manson had a perplexed look, but then he spoke again "Mr. Wheeler, Congenital Glaucoma may be an eye disease that would be hard to prepare if the operation doesn't happen on time, but it is affordable."

Joey was confused "What? what are you saying doc?"

"...Mr. Wheeler, the operation to treat the condition your sister had was one thousand dollars."

Joey froze while Tristan was shocked.

"One thousand dollars?" Tristan spoke.

Doctor Manson continued "Yes, the surgery to treat Congenital Glaucoma is from four hundred to one thousand dollars. I was confused myself, your sister could of had her surgery before since your mother had enough money for her to stay here at the hospital."

Joey was starting shake. He was furious, the operation was affordable the whole time and yet he thought it was three million dollars, what he couldn't understand was why did his sister say it was.

Then Joey started to remember his conversation with Serenity over the phone a week before the surgery.

_"Don't worry sis, when you get your operation, you'll be seeing good as new. Your eyesight will recover and you'll see your big brother in the battle city tournament." Joey says over the phone proudly._

_"Oh Joey," Serenity says on the other line "I don't know how I can ever thank you for what you've done for me. I'm so lucky to have a big brother you."_

_Joey smiled "Anything for you sis, and we'll finally see each other again when you get the surgery."_

_Serenity spoke "To think you got the money, you know when they told me the time came I was really scared. I didn't think I was ever going to see again, and when mom told me that the operation was expensive I was going to accept the fact that I'll never see again. But thanks to you there might be hope. I love you Joey."_

_"Love ya to sis, I'll you in a week."_

Joey went wide-eyed when he realized something in the conversation. Serenity told Joey that their mother said that the surgery was three million dollars, it all made sense.

Joey clenched his fists.

"Ma!"

* * *

Joey punched the wall and was breathing heavily. Tristan looks at Joey with concern.

"Take it easy Joey." He says.

Joey couldn't help but be angry. His mother had given Serenity her eye problem, and to make matters worse she lied to Serenity and Joey about how much the operation costed. Their mother made Serenity lose hope to ever see again and Joey went through the tournament for nothing and could of paid for the surgery from his bank account. He couldn't understand it, why would his mother do that to Serenity when she was on the verge of going blind for the rest of her life?

"Why...why did she do it?" Joey says fighting back his tears "She said she loved Serenity and yet she put herself in places pregnant women shouldn't be and Serenity almost ended up blind because of it! gah I feel like such an idiot! I could of paid for the surgery sooner, if I just did more research on Serenity's operation I would of known sooner and paid for it with my money instead of going to duelist kingdom!"

Joey was embarrassed, angry and disappointed. Embarrassed that Joey paid more money for the surgery when it affordable in the first place, angry at the fact that his mother lied to his baby sister that the surgery was too expensive and that she made Serenity have bad eyesight, and disappointed in himself for believing his mothers lies again.

"Tristan...don't ever tell Serenity about what happened here today. This is going to stay between us."

Tristan blinked "Why's that?"

Joey looked at Tristan with bloodshot eyes "Because she's been through enough as it is with her eye problem, she finally got the surgery and this will be too much for her to handle. Besides, if anyone is going to tell her about how she got her bad eyesight in the first place, it's gonna be ma. She owes Serenity an explanation for what she did when she was pregnant with my sister, because of her Serenity almost paid the price for it."

"Yeah but Joey," Tristan says "You can't lie to Serenity about this, and not to mention the fact that your mom lied to Serenity that the surgery wasn't that expensive, with your moms job she could of paid the operation herself."

"Well someday Serenity will find out the truth, if not from me it will be from our mother. Ma can't lie forever, I found out her true nature and Serenity will to when Ma finally spills the beans."

Joey stood up and Tristan went to him "But what if your mother doesn't tell her and keeps it a secret?"

"...Then when the time is right, I'll tell her. If my mother's not going to be an adult and own up to what she did and tell Serenity the truth then I'll do it and call her out on it."

Tristan nodded "But there is one thing I don't get, why would your mother lie about how much the operation was? if she didn't pay for it herself or you didn't get the money from duelist kingdom Serenity would be blind. Why would your mother risk Serenity losing her eyesight? you don't think she purposely wants her own daughter to go blind do you?"

"...That better not have been her intention. But my gut feeling is telling me otherwise, and if I find out that Ma's was purposely trying to make Serenity go blind for a reason...she will have Hell to pay, that is a promise. It was bad enough she wasn't there for me as a kid, but knowing what she did with Serenity and lying about how much the surgery costed...I'm starting to wonder if she ever loved Serenity when we were kids."

A nurse came out into the hallway "Excuse me? Joseph Wheeler? Your sister is awake now, you may go see her."

"I'll be there in a sec," Joey looks at Tristan "You go ahead of me Tristan. And if Serenity asks where ma is, tell her that her worked called and she had to go back home."

He knew Serenity does have a relationship with their mother. He may despise her but for Serenity's sake he will try to be respectful of the woman, Serenity had just got out of surgery and he couldn't bear to tell her about the fight they had and that she assaulted him and ended up kicked out of the hospital in the process. He didn't want to lie to his baby sister but he didn't want to paint a picture of their mother like that to Serenity, but when the time comes he will tell her what happened. Especially about how their mother is the reason she had bad eyesight in the first place and how she lied about the cost of the surgery.

"Alright dude," Tristan suddenly had a mischievous grin "So I get to be the first one to see Serenity and we can get acquainted." Tristan ceased the opportunity to finally meet Serenity and Joey started having a fit."

"Tristan! if you hit on my sister you're gonna end up on life support when I get through with ya!"

Joey sighed and headed off to a payphone. He put in a coin and started dialing a number, he pressed the phone to his ear and it started ringing until someone answered. Joey smiled.

"Hey Yug, my sister Serenity's operation was a success."

* * *

_**Fin**_


End file.
